Art Pharmacy Officially Launching 5/1/25

Franklin Arts & Culture | April 30th

Officially Launching May 1st - Art Pharmacy in Franklin Massachusetts Dear Community Partners, We're excited to officially announce the launch of Franklin's Art Pharmacy Program, beginning May 1, 2025! Art Pharmacy is a creative well-being initiative launched by the Town of Franklin, grounded in the belief that art can be a powerful path to healing. Backed by opioid settlement funding, this visionary program is led by the Town administration in partnership with local cultural organizations, prescribing partners, and community leaders. It connects residents with transformative arts and cultural experiences—offering "prescriptions" for creativity that nurture mental health, reduce isolation, and restore a sense of community connection. As noted by Erik Holmgren, Manager of Advancement and Strategic Partnerships at the Massachusetts Cultural Council, 'Franklin is the first municipality in the country to invest in Arts Prescriptions as a public health response to the opioid crisis—prescribing music, dance, visual arts, and more as a new tool for care.' "Funded through the Town's opioid settlement funds, their Arts Prescriptions initiative is designed to support substance use prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery efforts within the community. Arts Prescription is a proven tool for improving mental health and fostering resilience, and since 2020 Mass Cultural Council has been investing in and developing cross-sector partnerships to establish Arts Prescriptions in the Commonwealth. The arts have historically played a positive role in substance abuse recovery, helping to reduce withdrawal symptoms, cravings, and depression while increasing motivation, treatment eagerness, and enjoyment. By integrating the arts into wellness strategies, the Town of Franklin aims to provide inventive, accessible support for those in need." Read more from the Massachusetts Cultural Council Blog here. We're proud to recognize our inaugural Cultural Partner Organizations, who have already signed on: Franklin Recreation Department Franklin Art Association Pete's Nerd Emporium Franklin Senior Center Creative Corner Art Studio Franklin Public Library Franklin School for the Performing Arts THE BLACK BOX Mass Audubon – Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary Franklin United Methodist Church Town of Franklin: Department of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy Painting Venus by Amy Adams LLC Rise Up Franklin Franklin Historical Museum Here's what Pete from Pete's Nerd Emporium had to say about joining: "Signing up was super easy, especially for how much good the program can do! No cost, no risk to the business; nothing but up side for all involved. Was an absolute no-brainer to sign up." Registration remains open on a rolling basis for cultural organizations and prescribing partners who want to join the network. Please help us spread the word to others who may want to get involved! To learn more, please visit the Town of Franklin's website a franklinma.gov or the Art Pharmacy landing page to access all forms and details. Thank you for helping make Franklin a more creative, connected, and compassionate place to live. We can't wait to see the positive ripple effect the Art Pharmacy will have across our community.  Click the image to go to Enrollment form. Click the buttons below to link up cultural events in Franklin! Franklin Community Calendar Franklin Matters Franklin.TV Town Calendar Town of Franklin Franklin Culture District | 355 East Central Street | Franklin, MA 02038 US

Another first for Town of Franklin with implementation of Art Pharmacy

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"The Town of Franklin recently became the first municipality in the United States to invest in a new, innovative tool to combat the ongoing impacts of the opioid crisis: Arts Prescriptions, the practice of referring patients to creative experiences such as music, visual arts, dance, and theater.

Funded through the Town’s opioid settlement funds, their Arts Prescriptions initiative is designed to support substance use prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery efforts within the community.

Arts Prescription is a proven tool for improving mental health and fostering resilience, and since 2020 Mass Cultural Council has been investing in and developing cross-sector partnerships to establish Arts Prescriptions in the Commonwealth."

Read the full article online at Mass Cultural Council ->   https://massculturalcouncil.org/blog/the-town-of-franklin-launches-arts-prescriptions-to-support-community-well-being/

Shared from -> https://x.com/TOFranklinMA/status/1906703774229348527?

Performance by Dean College. Photo courtesy of the Franklin Cultural District

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You can view the video of the Art Pharmacy event at THE BLACK Box on March 5

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/03/use-of-opioid-settlement-funds-to-bring_01941360544.html

Use of Opioid Settlement Funds to bring Art Pharmacy to Franklin "another first of many" (video)

The Art Pharmacy Community Conversation was held at THE BLACK BOX on March 5, 2025. Cory Shea, Director of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy opened the event with 3 panelists who made brief presentations and then participated in a Q&A session.

Panelists:

• Michael Bobbitt, Mass Cultural Council

• Emily Devlin, Art Pharmacy

• Amy Friguiletti, Deputy Town Administrator

Franklin TV video link -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKvpBwHdyNE

The audio version (minus the Q&A section) can also be found online here ->

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/03/use-of-opioid-settlement-funds-to-bring.html

Use of Opioid Settlement Funds to bring Art Pharmacy to Franklin "another first of many"

Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm Schedule for Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Franklin Public Radio is available anywhere, anytime at wfpr.fm and in the local Franklin, MA area FM radio dial at 102.9

Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm Schedule for Wednesday, March 19, 2025

8:00 AM, 1:00 PM and 6:00 PM   Franklin Matters Radio – Steve Sherlock 

Franklin and its local government, services and events  (repeats Saturday at 2 PM)  

This segment features the my conversation the Community Conversation about Art Pharmacy held at THE BLACK BOX last Wednesday

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/03/use-of-opioid-settlement-funds-to-bring.html

9:00 AM, 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM  The Wonderful World of Wine – Mark Lenzi, Kim Simone    All about wine, its culture, lore and finer points.    (repeats Saturday at 1 PM)  

Mark & Kim talk conduct an Interview with Jim Spadaccini on the Immersive Wine Experiences: The Future of Tasting with Ideum

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/03/the-wonderful-world-of-wine-www-episode.html

 

Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm Schedule for Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Franklin Public Radio is available anywhere, anytime at wfpr.fm and in the local Franklin, MA area FM radio dial at 102.9

Time/Day			Wednesday
7:00 AM	12:00 Noon	5:00 PM	Jazz
8:00 AM	1:00 PM	6:00 PM	FM Radio - Sherlock
9:00 AM	2:00 PM	7:00 PM	Wonderful World of Wine - Lenzi/Simone
10:00 AM	3:00 PM	8:00 PM	Frank's Music - Falvey
11:00 AM	4:00 PM	9:00 PM	Music

8:00 AM, 1:00 PM and 6:00 PM   Franklin Matters Radio – Steve Sherlock 

Franklin and its local government, services and events  (repeats Saturday at 2 PM)  

This segment features the my conversation the Community Conversation about Art Pharmacy held at THE BLACK BOX last Wednesday

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/03/use-of-opioid-settlement-funds-to-bring.html

9:00 AM, 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM  The Wonderful World of Wine – Mark Lenzi, Kim Simone    All about wine, its culture, lore and finer points.    (repeats Saturday at 1 PM)  

Mark & Kim talk conduct an "Interview with Kelli A. White"

 ->  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/03/the-wonderful-world-of-wine-unleash.html

Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm Schedule

Use of Opioid Settlement Funds to bring Art Pharmacy to Franklin "another first of many"

FM #1396 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1396 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares the Art Pharmacy Community Conversation held at THE BLACK BOX on March 5, 2025. Cory Shea, Director of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy opened the event with 3 panelists who made brief presentations and then participated in a Q&A session.

Panelists:

• Michael Bobbitt, Mass Cultural Council

• Emily Devlin, Art Pharmacy

• Amy Friguiletti, Deputy Town Administrator

The Q&A session of this is not shared, the audio quality was not sufficient.

The presentation portion of the event runs about 35 minutes, so let’s listen to overview of Art Pharmacy and how the Town of Franklin will be the first community to use their Opioid Settlement funds to  use this Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1396-art-pharmacy-community-comversation-03-05-25/

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** Presentation by Michael Bobbitt -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_g76jrwROR3wWehzLD5mDxrWk3zhk8Uo/view?usp=drive_link

Mass Cultural Council press release on Art Pharmacy -> https://massculturalcouncil.org/blog/introducing-the-first-statewide-social-prescribing-solution-in-the-u-s/ 

Mass Cultural Council -> https://massculturalcouncil.org/ 

Michael Bobbit -> https://massculturalcouncil.org/about/staff/michael-j-bobbitt-bio/ 

** Presentation by Emily Devlin -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yFFjIH-x0lHx53F8MMwxatqg_JoDJ35F/view?usp=drive_link

Art Pharmacy ->  https://www.artpharmacy.co/ 

Emily Devlin -> https://www.artpharmacy.co/about 

** Town of Franklin ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/ 

Amy Friguilett -> https://www.franklinma.gov/159/Administrator 

Cory Shea -> https://www.franklinma.gov/916/Arts-Culture-and-the-Creative-Economy

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The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

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Use of Opioid Settlement Funds to bring Art Pharmacy to Franklin "another first of many"